Carnegie Hall Kids’ College brings the Arts to life

Kids’ College Students Charlotte shows the dolls she made using corn husks, pipe cleaners and other craft supplies

by Sara Swann

The staff and volunteers at Carnegie Hall in Lewisburg kicked off the 22nd a year of Kids’ College on Monday, July 7.

Kids’ College is a summer day camp for rising kindergarten to 7th graders that concentrates on the arts and sciences. Both morning and afternoon sessions are offered for two weeks: July 7-11 and July 14-18.

“The goal of Carnegie Hall Kids’ College is to give children a chance to experiment with the arts and sciences in a safe environment,” Education Director Leah Trent said. “Kids’ College also provides classes that aren’t normally offered in schools so children are exposed to a lot of new and different things. Plus, the class sizes are small so there’s a nice student-to-teacher ratio.”

This year, more than 250 participating children chose from 18 different morning classes and eight different afternoon classes, including pottery, pinata making, fashion designing, ukulele music, Lego robotics, and baking classes.

Each session, whether it’s the morning of week one or the afternoon of week two, of Kids’ College costs $125 each. However, scholarship assistance is made available to those who qualify and meet that year’s deadline.

“Kids’ College is a really nice opportunity and we are proud to say that over $10,000 in scholarships was given to qualifying applicants this year,” Trent said.

All parents, relatives, and friends are invited to an open house each week on Thursday, July 10 and July 17 at 12:30 p.m. for the morning session and 4 p.m. for the afternoon session. The open houses give friends and family the opportunity to see their children’s work in progress, visit the classrooms, meet the teachers, and tour the rest of Carnegie Hall.

A student showcase is also available to all parents, relatives, and friends each week on Friday, July 11 and July 18 at 12:30 p.m. for the morning session and 4 p.m. for the afternoon session. The showcase gives the children an opportunity to feature skills they have learned and projects they have created.

Adolescents who are too old to enroll in Kids’ College or adults can volunteer for various classes by listing their interests on their application. Their interests are then matched to the classes offered that year.

“I never went to Kids’ College when I was younger, but volunteering makes me wish I had,” Volunteer Peter Soukup said.

Whether you would like to enroll your child or volunteer, don’t forget to save the date for next year’s Kids’ College, which will take place July 6-10 and July 13-17.